Monday, July 8, 2013

Review: Back Before Dark by Tim Shoemaker

Review: Picture yourself taking a leisurely bike ride with your cousin just after sunset. You see a man in a van that looks like he needs help. Your cousin rushes over to him on his bike. Suddenly, the man has a taser on your cousin, throws him in the van, and speeds away. You are peddling as fast as you can but you can't catch up to the speeding van. You get only one good look at the man before he speeds away with your cousin, unconscious inside the van. There's been a kidnapping, and you don't know if you will ever see your cousin again. You are Cooper, the kidnapped boy's cousin. Everything was fine until the kidnapping. Cooper, Hiro, and Lunk have the entire town searching. One week later, everybody is still searching day and night for Gordy. No ransom call has come. Gordy may be dead. In Back Before Dark, by Tim Shoemaker, Cooper is on the search with Lunk and Hiro to find his beloved cousin, Gordy.

Back Before Dark is amazing! It is jam-packed with action and adventure. I never wanted to put it down. You won't be bored with this book! I loved how the author shows different perspectives, such as Gordy, Cooper, and the kidnapper. It was interesting to see what they were thinking. I like books written this way because then it doesn't leave me asking questions that can't be answered, only inferred, such as, "What did the kidnapper think of the situation?" Back Before Dark is very realistic, and I could clearly picture it happening in real life. I also could envision everything in my head perfectly because it is described so vividly. I give Back Before Dark 5 stars!

Review written by Emily (6th grade student).

We would like to thank ZonderKidz for providing a copy of Back Before Dark for this review.